Irrigation authorities have asked the military to ensure upstream farmers comply with water-pumping timetables so tap water production can continue in Lop Buri, Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani provinces.
Suchart Charoensri, irrigation director in Manorom district of Chai Nat province, said on Monday that water in the Chao Phraya River was normally pumped into the Chai Nat-Pasak Canal for tap-water production in the three provinces on the eastern side of the river.
However, in the past few days the water could not reach tap water plants in the three provinces because upstream farmers were pumping water into their farmland around the clock, ignoring time-limits instructions, Mr Suchart said.
He was referring to farmers in Manorom district of Chai Nat, Takhli district of Nakhon Sawan and Khok Samrong and Ban Mi districts of Lop Buri province.
Mr Suchart said he would ask the military to make sure the farmers comply with the pumping schedules.
Ekasit Sakdeethanaporn, director of the Chao Phraya dam, said discharges from the dam increased from 70 to 80 cubic metres per second to support tap-water production in the provinces, as well as Bangkok.
The Chao Phraya River's level above the dam remains critically low and farmers have to limit their usage to support tap-water production, he said.
The above-dam level stood at 13.23 metres above the mean sea level while its critical level was at 14m, he said.
Officials in Pathum Thani province dredged waterways to conveniently feed raw water to a tap water plant in Thanyaburi district and supply should reach about 60,000 households in Thanyaburi, Nong Sua and Lam Luk Ka districts Monday night. Tap water has stopped since Sunday morning.
Officials in Thanyaburi district of Pathum Thani are distributing drinking water to local residents on Monday. (Photo by Pongpat Wongyala)